Martha Stewart Responds to Plastic Surgery Rumors After Appearing on Swimsuit Cover at 81 | “I Hate Botox”

Martha Stewart has a lot to say to those who have criticized her recent Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover. The lifestyle queen recently spoke with Variety and The Martha Stewart Podcast about how she prepared for the now-iconic photo shoot, whether she had fillers, and how she used Photoshop.

Despite being the oldest cover star ever to grace a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the 81-year-old appears to be aging backward—so much so that fans suspect she's had plastic surgery. Stewart, on the other hand, was quick to refute these claims, telling Variety, “Well, it’s not true. I’ve had absolutely no plastic surgery whatsoever.”

She's also not a big fan of Botox. “Every now and then there are certain fillers that I can do for a little line here or there, but I hate Botox,” she said. "It’s a weird thing for me. I really and truly don’t do a lot.”

When she was asked about whether she's seen the comments of her fans on the photos, she shared that “they’re very good.” Responding to allegations of retouching on the pictures, she said, “There are only a few naysayers saying, 'The pictures are over-retouched.' But they’re not. They are incredibly accurate pictures. I was really pleased that there was not much airbrushing.”

Stewart attributes her success with her young radiance to her wellness regimen. “I drink green juice every day,” she told Variety. “I take my vitamins. I eat very healthfully. I have very good skin doctors. I’m very careful in the sun. I wear hats and I wear sunblock every single day.”

Stewart also upped her game in preparation for the Sports Illustrated photo, exercising Pilates three times a week, cutting out alcohol, and opting for more frequent facials, which she gets from celebrity skin care hot spot Mario Badescu's facialist Carmela Barabas, per Glamour. 

Stewart shared that posing for the swimsuit cover is certainly not something she would have imagined at 81 years of age. “It certainly has aroused an interest in many, many different places.” Sharing an email she received from friend Gayle King, she reflected on how people are reimagining their futures because of the shoot.

“I just got an email from Gayle King. She wrote, 'Congratulations, this is really great. You look stunning, and blah, blah, blah.' I wrote back to her, 'Next year is your year.' She wrote back, 'I would have never even considered that it would happen, but now?' That’s what’s happening. People are now reimagining their future. And that’s what it’s all about. You can call upon the past but reimagining the future for yourself, for your family, for anybody is a very good thing right now, because of the chaos this world is in,” Stewart shared.

References:

https://www.glamour.com/story/martha-stewart-anti-aging-skin-care-secrets

https://swimsuit.si.com/swimnews/meet-your-cover-model-2023-martha-stewart

https://variety.com/2023/scene/fashion/martha-stewart-sports-illustrated-1235615195/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Noam Galai